CPA Football to Go Independent, Skip TSSAA Playoffs in 2027 and 2028

Christ Presbyterian Academy will play a self-made 10-game schedule outside TSSAA region play for two seasons, making it ineligible for the state playoffs.

Christ Presbyterian Academy announced Sept. 22 that its football team will compete as an independent program during the 2027 and 2028 seasons, a move that makes the Nashville private school ineligible for the TSSAA playoffs. The decision comes ahead of the TSSAA reclassification that takes effect with the 2027-28 school year.

Under the plan, CPA can build its own 10-game schedule and remains eligible for a postseason bowl game if it wishes, but it will not compete in a region. The school said the choice rests on priorities of competitive integrity, mission accountability and student safety, and it expects to remain in Division II-AAA under current TSSAA classification rules.

The move follows the TSSAA's placement of CPA in Division II-AAA, the largest classification for private schools, via a success factor adopted to ensure the division had 12 schools. CPA was the only school moved up from Division II-AA under that rule, which the TSSAA later removed because it affected only that classification.

Head of school Nate Morrow said the school's highest priority is its educational mission and that the independent path protects it while allowing the program to keep competing at a high level. Athletic director and football coach Ingle Martin said high school football is at an inflection point and that the focus should stay on developing young players.

CPA is 0-5 this season in Division II-AA-A competition after going 4-9 with a semifinal berth in 2025. The program has appeared in 12 TSSAA state championship games since 2000, winning seven titles, most recently in Division II-AA in 2024. The school said it will formally notify the TSSAA before the Sept. 29 deadline and could reconsider if classification rules change.